The Wolf's Way
by BelleDayNight
Summary: AU: The year is 1863 and Kouga's tribe is being forced to join in the America Civil War, but while he's gone his tribe is defenseless with the absence of his men who can take the form of wolves. He meets a nurse during his tour, but she is more than she appears. When he returns home he finds his tribe slaughtered by vampires. Will a new alliance in the West lead to his revenge?


**The Wolf's Way**

Summary:

AU: The year is 1863 and Kouga's tribe is being forced to join in the America Civil War, but while he's gone his tribe is defenseless with the absence of his men who can take the form of wolves. He meets a nurse during his tour, but she is more than she appears as she's a member of the Holy Order of Warriors. When he returns home he finds his tribe slaughtered. The only clue is that every last drop of their blood has been drained by vampires. Can the newly immigrated werewolf tribe in the West help him find his revenge and stop the plague of vampires from spreading?

* * *

**Chapter One:**

Chief Kiba of the Cherokee Nation had called his son Kouga for a private meeting to discuss the future of the tribe. The white man was fighting amongst himself and while it would suit their tribe just fine if they decimated each other they had to think about their lands. Thirty years ago they'd already been forced to relocate from their ancestral lands in Georgia to the small reservations in Oklahoma and Texas.

Kouga shoved back the flap of his father's tent. "Have a seat son," Chief Kiba said. He sat near a small fire and was stuffing a sleeve of tobacco into his smoking pipe. Kouga sat across from him and looked his father over. He was wearing his red and gold feather headdress and his leather clothing was beaded with gold and red at the chest and his boots were from the flesh of the copperhead snake. It was their traditional battle dress.

"Are we going to war, father?" Kouga asked.

"No, but you are," Chief Kiba said. "You and your men. You must protect the tribe by keeping the war away from us."

Kouga scowled at the idea. He and his men, as his father put it, were the ones that kept their tribe safe. They were gifted with the ability to transform into wolves at night and at will when there was danger. It was a gift from the moon goddess. His strength, visual acuity, and ability to track by smell were far superior to the average man. "If we are gone that will leave you defenseless."

"We were promised that we would be left alone," Chief Kiba argued.

"The word of the white man means nothing when they want our lands. And exactly who's side should we fight on? This war has been going on for over three years without our intervention. I will not lead our men into slaughter. If we pick the losing side we'll lose whatever land we posses now."

Kiba shook the excess tobacco out of his pipe. "The Choctaw have chosen to fight for the Confederacy. They have thousands of slaves so they sympathize with the South."

Slavery. The idea disgusted Kouga. The American Indians, as the white man called them, were labeled savages. And yet, this new invading country copied the laws of the Iroquois Confederacy, fought like them when they rebelled against their mother country. The wanted freedom, but all they did was take the freedom from others, steal their lands or steal their lives. Not all the white men were bad, but the bad ones ruined the reputation of all. Just as a few angry Natives that fought back using terrorist attacks like scalping had ruined their image to the white man.

"Our old lands are in the south," Kouga reasoned. "I have heard from the traveling tradesman that Geogia has been razed and the great forests all but destroyed."

Chief Kiba puffed from his pipe and then offered it to Kouga. He held his hand up to decline. "You weren't even alive when we were forced to leave our lands. We were all forced to leave our homes."

Kouga began to pick at the hem of his deer hide pants. His father was referring to the Trail of Tears. His mother, who had been sired by a white man that had lived amongst their tribe, had died of a broken heart when Kouga was young. She'd constantly told stories of their homeland and of the horrors of their forced march across the country in the brutal winter. Many had died. Aside from his blue eyes, Kouga had also inherited her bitterness. "Why don't we just keep neutral and watch them kill each other?"

"Who is Chief?"

"You are," Kouga said through clenched teeth. "Fine father, I choose to send my wolves into battle with the side that is against slavery."

"There are more points that they are fighting for than slavery. A good portion of the Confederates that are actually fighting have never had a slave and are often working in the fields alongside of them. They say they are fighting for states to have their own rights and not to cater to the federal government."

"I hear the South has fewer men, is losing their lands to the damage of war, and have a naval blockade keeping new supplies from reaching them. It is a losing battle and we need to be on the winning side." Kouga stopped picking at his hem and looked his father directly in his eyes. "I say we fight for the Union."

"I agree with your judgment. You must set out at first light. Take the trains. These white men do not need to know of your other ability. They do not handle well things they do not understand. You remember the campfire stories about the witches in Salem."

Of course he remembered the stories. Every night, the tribe gathered to tell stories both old and current events. His people honored their history and their memory was long. Kouga stood stooped so that his head wouldn't hit the inner ribs of the tent. "Very well father, I will accept this burden. Keep our people safe in my absence. "

"Of course," Chief Kiba said bowing his head.

Kouga blew out a frustrated breath then left the tent. He'd need to collect his men and then set off for the train station. He would have preferred to run as a pack of wolves, but he'd do his best to please his father and keep up the appearance that they were normal men.

**OoO**

Kagome scrubbed her hands vigorously in hot water diffused with crushed yarrow leaves to remove the blood and grime. The surgeons about her were sometimes absolute fools. They would saw off limbs without even bothering to sanitize the wounds. Their patients would either die of blood poisoning or they would bleed out.

Her medical training supervisor stood next to her also scrubbing her hands. "How are you doing?"

Kagome glanced over at her cousin and frowned. She was awful pale. "Better than you. You like a ghost," she commented.

"Hm, yes, I imagine I look a fright. I just tried to comfort a man that had a cannon ball rip off both his legs. There was nothing I could do, but hold his hand as he bled out and cried," Kikyo said.

"I hate this. I wish we were back at the institute," Kagome complained.

"I don't like it either, Kagome. However, we must do our duty to aid where we can. This is our country now. We must make sure there is still a country left after this wasteful fighting is over," Kikyo said.

"It would be so much easier if we just used our powers," Kagome whispered. She'd been training for years to use her spiritual powers to purify not only evil, but also infection and illness. It seemed foolish to keep her powers hidden when they could save so many lives.

"While we may have been blessed with such strength, we are but mortal. There are too many that need our help. If you were to use your spiritual powers you'd exhaust your life prematurely," Kikyo explained. "At least we can use our knowledge of herbs and sanitation. That is something many of these surgeons lack."

Kagome flung the water off her hands. "Well, I'll just go find the next sad soul." On her way back to the infirmary she passed by the kind Doctor Suikotsu. He was comforting a small child who had suffered some minor burns. She waved a greeting to the dark-haired man. Kikyo wouldn't confirm it, but Kagome was pretty sure that she and the doctor were courting.

She looked down the long row of hospital beds. Her next patient was one of those Native Americans. She didn't understand why, but many of the nurses refused to treat the tribal men. She had found them to be nothing but polite. And often they were familiar with the herbs she often used in her treatment.

She found the patient in question. He was sleeping and had a guest in the chair next to the head of his bed. Kagome almost stumbled upon seeing her patient's visitor. He was stunning. His dark hair was longer than hers and was tied up high on his head, his skin was a shade of golden brown, he was leanly muscled and when he looked up and met her gaze she could see his bright blue eyes that were complimented nicely by his dark blue Union uniform. He stood as she approached.

"Are you a friend of Hotaru?" Kagome asked as she leaned over her patient's bed. His skin had a good color to it though his cheeks were a bit rosy. She felt the back of her hand to his cheek and determined that he did in fact have a fever. "I just need to change his bandages and give him a tea for the fever," Kagome said meeting the strange man's eyes.

He nodded and sat back in his chair. He watched her carefully as she removed Hotaru's bandages and then used a sponge to wash the wounds with warm water and a blend of various antiseptic herbs. "May I be of assistance?" he asked.

"Sure, able bodies and steady hands are always in demand at this place," Kagome said with quick smile. She nodded toward the flask of liquid tied on her belt at her waist. "If you'll pour some of the tea from inside my flask into his cup."

He took the flask, and Kagome felt her heart flutter as his hands were so close. He unscrewed the cap and sniffed. "Yarrow and white willow?" he asked.

"That's a good nose you have there," Kagome said in surprise. She was impressed by the knowledge of many of the natives that knew of herbal remedies to many common ailments. Anyone who was to call them savage were fools.

"Indeed," he agreed. He poured a little bit of the hot herbal water into Hotaru's cup. "I don't recognize the wash you're using though."

"Agrimony," Kagome said. "It's useful for lacerations and open wounds. And then I'll slather on some aloe vera. I think you're friend will recover," she said with a reassuring smile that she'd practice day in and day out. This time it might not even be a lie.

"If he wakes up," the man said with a frown. "What does H.O.O.W. stand for?"

Apparently he read the inscription on her flask. It was standard issue at the institute. It stood for Holy Order of Warriors. Normally, it was filled with holy water, but anti-fever tea seemed a better use for it given the situation. "The institute I attended before the war. And hopefully I will return to once this is over."

"It's unusual for a woman to attend a school, is it not?" he asked.

She began to re-bandage Hotaru in fresh linens. "My name is Kagome. Perhaps if we're going to be sharing personal questions we should know each other's names."

"Sorry about that, I suppose that was rude. I'm Kouga," he said rubbing the back of his neck with a brief flush of pink across his cheeks. "But it is unusual, isn't it?"

"This land of the free, where all men are created equal doesn't seem to extend the same courtesy to women. And it also seems that while men are created equal they are quickly separated," Kagome whispered hotly.

"Yet here we are, fighting for it," Kouga said sitting back in the chair.

Kagome shrugged. "It's still home. I appreciate your help, Kouga. I hope to see you again."

"Should I ever become injured I want to request your care. Would that be all right?" Kouga asked.

"Of course," Kagome said. "And, if you should happen to come across any useful herbs on your travels I'd appreciate if you'd gather them. I can only get out of here on rare occasions now, but I'm afraid I've cleaned out the nearby section of forest. It will be months before the herbs and roots replenish."

He looked down at his friend. "If it will help to save Hotaru and others like him I will make it a priority. It makes more sense than standing in a line facing one another and shooting cannons and seeing who's side will be maimed the most."

"Not a fan of European fighting techniques?" Kagome asked.

"No, I'll stick with my ancestral techniques. It's foolish to announce the presence of your forces with drums and flutes. You are just asking to sacrifice the lives of your men. My people value all lives, not just the leader's life," Kouga said gritting his teeth. He stood, squeezed his friend's shoulder. "I will find you lifesaving herbs. Take care, Kagome."

"You too, Kouga." She watched as the proud man moved down the aisle at a brisk pace. He was just a man, but when he walked it reminded her of a hunter — a stalking wolf perhaps. She washed her hands again and then went to check on her next patient.

* * *

_A/N: I've been wanting to write another Inuyasha werewolf story since I took down Heart of a Wolf and adapted it to an original novel that I had published. I know the fandom isn't near as popular as it once was, but it's still in my top five series. And I enjoy watching IY The Final Act whenever I'm bored. I still get mad at Kagome for not ending up with Kouga! As I'm from the South, I unfortunately know quite a bit about the American Civil War. It seems we're a sore loser. I'll try to throw in accurate history where I can, but the fantasy will be mixed in so don't use this to study up for any history exams! Enjoy! There's more to come._


End file.
